Bottle split at Chriso Easter tasting, big thanks to Leighton, 04/04/15. Light black with a decent tan covering. Nose is dark fruit rinds, figgy jam, toffee, smoke, light spice, trace of coffee. Taste comprises rich malt notes, chocolate biscuit, toffee, cocoa, subtle coffee grinds. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, drying close. Ok porter but expected a lot more from Trillium, the coffee was pretty muted in this number!

32oz growler from the brewery consumed later that day, Summer 2014
Very lovely pour reveals a pale golden liquid, shimmering with fine bubbles and a medium-sized white head that recedes to cover. Clarity is high, with just a touch of chill-haze.
Fantastic tropical fruit and dry, leafy, rich herbs emanate forth from the hops. Very inviting, with some straw-like maltiness and dried haystacks. More rustic from the nose (and hoppy) than any German kolsch I’ve had, but it’s delightful, whatever it is. No alcohol or flaws.
Wonderfully attenuated, with a dry, crackery-like malt body providing just a dollop of honeyed biscuit-like sweetness. Carbonation is tight and engaging and the hops explode with ample bitterness and tons of dry, yellow tropical fruitiness and herbs. Sadly, there’s a strong bland note that severely dampens the brightness. I assume something to do with the hops. Moderately astringent, though thankfully not dirty (a la some of the dirty dishwater notes occasionally found in Night Shift’s IPAs). Strange too, as the beer is in great condition and it’s not one of the murky still-has-the-hop-particulates-in-suspsension beers that one would expect this sort of thing from. Other than that, though, fantastic, wonderfully drinkable beer (and still quite good despite that).

Draught at Publick House, Trillium 2nd Anniversary, 3/23/15
Dark ebony body seems opaque or close thereto with a beige head that slowly recedes to cover.
Milk chocolate, hersheys syrup-like nose does provide a touch of roast on the tail-end, while plentiful vanilla and cream notes further sweeten the deal. Some light vinousness, mostly passing, is the real treat and would that it were more lasting. As is, quite pleasant, if unremarkable aroma, with a medium strength overall (no alcohol noted).
Holy crap this stuff is sweet. Milk chocolate, vanilla cream, honey, chocolate milk; it’s all here. Moderate carbonation attempts to keep things from getting cloying and it’s not that the stuff tastes worty, there’s just a complete lack of balancing roasted barley/chocolate malt. Almost zero bitterness. The vanilla flavor builds up to the point where I don’t want to drink more after about 2-3 sips. Was the idea, Hey, let’s throw a bunch of vanilla, rolled oats, base malt and some darks malts just for color? Little/no hop apparency. Alcohol is concealed nicely, though!

Draught at Publick House, Trillium 2nd Annviersary, 3/23/15
Deep golden-copper pour shows this isn’t a Congress Street or Fort Point malt bill. Head is medium-sized, white and moderately well-retained. Liquid is moderately hazy.
More specialty malts in this one, at least to some extent, and it shows in the nose, adding a touch of caramel and bread to the otherwise heavily fruity (cherries, oranges, ruby red grapefruit) hop assortment. No alcohol or flaws in the nose.
Surprisingly tame in the flavor department. Sweeter than I would have expected, with more residual sugar than I’d prefer, even if it does mean zero resin burn. Very low bitterness, with predominantly cherry and candied orange hop flavors with a dash of tropical fruits thrown in. Caramel and honey build up on the palate and there is very little bitterness to combat it. Eventually, all I really taste is a canned pineapple-like flavor that is heavily sweet and very off-putting. Looking at other ratings, I see mention of garlic and onions which is spot on. Was going to say it tasted "meaty" but garlic is precisely it. Oddly enough that person still gave it a 4.3! I like garlic/onion flavor in my beer less so than him/her, I guess! 7/3/6/3/11
Canned 8/31/16, drunk 9/16/16.
A much-needed rerate here and it’s funny seeing my comments for my first time trying this as being very off-put by the garlic/onion character. Not sure if my palate has grown more accustomed to it (probably) or if that batch had some older/less-desirable hops in it. Whatever the case, while I can still sometimes pick out suggestions of garlic/scallion from some of these new hop breeds, I don’t find it very overt or frequent. That being said, I still feel about the same with this as I do with the regular Melcher Street; rather sweet/muchy and overly given to over-ripe nectarine/peach. It’s a good, solid, drinkable beer, don’t get me wrong, but not up there with their best, IMHO. Malty and wheat-flour-laden texture, with fine carbonation and decent attenuation (still a bit too sweet, I think). Needs a little less pine character, as well. Score is for this incarnation.